Wall organizing system

ABSTRACT

A wall organizing system includes a generally elongate track. A member is provided for attaching the track to a wall or other substantially vertical surface. At least one attaching member is slidably and selectively movable along the track between opposing lateral ends of the track for attaching to an item to be secured to the wall or other surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to organizing systems and, morespecifically, to a wall organizing system suitable for use with toolbags and pouches, typically used with tool belts.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Many efforts have been made by workers and do-it-yourselfers to improvethe organization and storage of tools, items of hardware and othervarious objects. Numerous such systems have been proposed for mountingand storing objects on a wall because a wall presents a relatively largesurface area that is not always utilized for this or any other purpose.Shelves of various types are examples of one such storage system. Hooksmounted on walls is another example. However, with the advent of newdesigns of tool belt and tool bags systems, there is a need fororganizing and storing tool bags or pouches, particularly when these arenot in use and are removed from the tool belt. Tool belts in storagesystems of this type are described in the following U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/835,658 filed on Apr. 30, 2004 been published asnumber 20050242144, and a Ser. No. 10/838,601 filed on May 4, 2004 andpublished as number 20050263552. Because such tool belt storage systemsmake it possible to provide a user with an almost unlimited number ofvariations of tool bags or pouches, each customized for a specific userapplication, a user will typically have numerous such tool bags, pocketsor pouches, while only using one or two at any given time. The remainingtool bags or pouches, normally removed from the tool belt when not inuse, need to be organized and stored so that they can be easilyidentified, accessed and used as needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a wall mountingsystem that does not have the disadvantages inherent in known systems.

It is another object of the invention to provide a wall mounting systemthat is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a wall mountingsystem as in the previous objects that is particularly useful inorganizing and storing tool bags or pouches when these are not in use ona tool belt or the like.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a wall mountingsystem of the type under discussion, which renders it especially usefuland easy to mount, remove and store a plurality of tool bags or pouchestypically used on tool belts from a wall mounting system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects will become apparent when the drawings of thepresent invention are considered in detail along with the specification,taken with the drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wall mounting strip in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wall mounting strip shown inFIG. 1, taken all along line 2-2; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which a tool bagor pouch is mounted on the wall mounting or supporting bar or strip onethe bag or pouch is not in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to the drawings, in which similar or identical parts aredesignated by the same reference numerals throughout, and firstreferring to FIG. 1, the wall mounting system in accordance with theinvention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10.

The mounting system 10 includes a support the bar 12. Also referring toFIG. 2, the support bar 12 may be formed out of extruded material, suchas plastic or aluminum or any other material suitable for this purposethat will be evident to those skilled in the art. The support bar 12includes a longitudinal upper portion or track 12 a and a similarlongitudinal lower portion or track 12 b connected to each other by arear connecting web 12 c. A front plate 12 d is spaced from the rearconnecting web 12 c a distance “d”. The front plate 12 d is attached tothe connecting wed 12 c by means of a bridging or spacer portion 12 e.The front plate 12 b has an upper edge 12 f and a lower edge 12 g, thelower edge extending below the bridging portion 12 e to facilitate thegripping of the lower edge, as will be evident from the description thatfollows. The upper portion or track 12 a may be provided with spacedmounting holes 12 h through which screws or other fasteners may bedriven into the wall. However, it will be clear that any otherattachment means may be used including but not limited to adhesives,Velcro®, etc.

One or more hooks 14 are mounted on the bar 12, and are preferablymounted for sliding movements along the bar. Each of the hooks 14includes a generally C-shaped member that has a generally flat portion14 a, an upper curved portion 14 b and a lower curved portion 14 c. Theupper curved portion slidably engages the upper edge 12 f while thelower curved portion 14 c slidably engages the lower edge 12 g. On thefront surface of the front plate 14 a, as viewed in FIG. 1, is aresilient clip 16 suitable for engagement with the finger grippingmechanism, of the type to be described, as disclosed in theaforementioned pending patent applications.

It will be clear that the hooks slidably mate with the front plate 12 dat the intermediate points shown between the free ends of the bar 12.Because the hooks 14 are made of a generally rigid material that havelimited ability to bend or flex , the hooks need to be inserted on thefront plate from one free end or the other. For this reason, and toprovide a more ornamental and “finished” look, there are preferablyprovided end caps 18, 20 that can be removed. When the hooks, 14 are tobe inserted or removed and positioned in place, as viewed in FIG. 1, oneor both end caps can be removed and replaced during use of the devicewhen inadvertent separation of hooks from the front plate 12 b is to beavoided. In FIG. 1, therefore, the hooks 14 are free to slide and berepositioned at will, but cannot be separated or removed as long as theend caps are in place.

Referring to FIG. 3, suitable means may be provided for facilitating theremoval and replacement of the end caps, 18, 20. This includes, forexample, an opening 22 in the front plate 12 d and locking detent 24,that is selectively receivable within the opening 22. The detent 24 iscontrolled by a spring-loaded button 26. When the button 26 is pushed insufficiently the detent 24 moves out of the opening 22 against a biasingelement (not shown), thereby unlocking the end 20 and allowing same tobe removed. However, when the button 26 is released and the detent 24moves into the slot 22 the end caps are locked in place.

In FIG. 3, a utility/storage module accessory is generally designated bythe reference 28. The module or accessory includes a support member 30in the form of a generally rigid support panel to which there isattached one or more pockets or other storage or retaining elements orcomponents that provide storage compartments suitable for variousapplications. Thus, the support member 30, shown in FIG. 3, includes aseparate receptacle wall 32 an additional exterior receptacles 34, aswell as a band or strap 36. Securely attached to the support member orpanel 30 is a finger grip mechanism 38 configured to cooperate with aclip 16. The details of the finger grip mechanism 38 are fully describedin the above-mentioned applications. The support member 30 may beattached to the finger gripped mechanism 38 in any suitable or knownways, including rivets as shown. It should be noted, this connection,that clips, similar to clips 16 in FIGS. 1 or 3 can also be provided ontool belts or the like, so that the utility storage modules 28 can beequally mounted and supported on tool belts, as well as on wall mountingsupport bar 10. In this way, a utility storage module 28 may be storedon the support bar 10 when a worker does not use a given module, orneeds to use differently configured modules. However, when the module isneeded, it can easily be removed from the support bar 10 and attached toor mounted on a tool belt provided with similar or mating clips.Attachment of the module 28 to the support bar 10 is generally suggestedby the arrow 40 in FIG. 3, indicating the general motion of the handholding the finger grip mechanism 38. The details of the manner in whichthe finger grip mechanism 38 and the clip 16 cooperate is described inthe a afore-mentioned pending patent applications. Those descriptionsare incorporated fully as if set forth herein. In FIG. 4, the module 28is shown as mounted or supported on the support bar 10. When a workerneeds the module, he or she simply places his or her fingers underneaththe finger grip mechanism 38 and lifts the module in a motion generallythe reverse of the motion indicated by arrow 40 in FIG. 3.

Clearly, two or more modules may be placed on a single support bar 10.The number of modules that can be accommodated will clearly be afunction of the length of the bar and how many clips 16 are provided.The invention can, therefore, assist a user in organizing modules orpouches that are selectively attached to tool belts or the like forspecific work assignments. When the module is no longer needed orrequired, it can be returned to the support bar for storage.

In view of the foregoing, the will organizing system in accordance withthe present invention helps organize tool pouches or pockets, bothbefore and after use. The structure can be mounted in various convenientplaces, including garages, workshops and service vans or other vehicles.The system is expandable to home, office and workshop. The organizerscan be built of metal, plastic or wood.

While the preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it willbe understood that the there is no intention to limit the invention bysuch disclosure, but rather, it is the intention to cover allmodifications and alternate constructions falling within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

1. Wall organizing system comprising a generally elongate track; meansfor attaching said track to a wall or other substantially verticalsurface; at least one attaching means slidably and selectively movablealong said track between opposing lateral ends of said track forattaching to an item to be secured to the wall or other surface.
 2. Wallorganizing system as defined in claim 1, further comprising stop meansat each lateral end of said track to limiting movements of saidattaching means between said lateral ends without separating from saidtrack.
 3. Wall organizing system as defined in claim 2, wherein saidstop means are selectively removable from said track to allow for addingor removing attaching means from said track by sliding over one of saidlateral ends.
 4. Wall organizing system as defined in claim 1, whereinthe items to be supported are tool pouches.
 5. Wall organizing system asdefined in claim 1, in combination with a tool pouch.
 6. Wall organizingsystem as defined in claim 1, wherein said attachment means and saidpouch are provided with mating snap lock connectors.
 7. Wall organizingsystem as defined in claim 1, comprising a plurality of attachment meansindependently slidably mounted on said track.